Only Nikola Jokic can do this to Victor Wembanyama

Only Nikola Jokic can do this to Victor Wembanyama

It’s a very special thing when we get to see two contrasting all-time great talents of different Generations even in direct battle and that’s what we were blessed with last night as niika yic perhaps the greatest offensive player ever took on Victor wanyama the greatest defensive Talent ever they met once

Earlier this season and yic had a monstrous outing dropping 39 11 and9 but wemi was on a minute’s restriction at that point and has improved considerably since then nevertheless yic again controlled the rematch last night scoring an extremely efficient 31 points on 13 of 19 shooting in just three

Quarters of play as the Nuggets won again but wemi still proved an incredibly distinct challenge to joic forcing him to turn to solutions that no other player in the league could as he ultimately won the chess match the challenge that wemi poses was evident on jokic’s first attempt of the game

Because when most stronger players try to post up wemi it looks something like this they may carry him under the bucket but he’s so absurdly tall and long that he can disrupt them anyways and that’s what happens here since yic doesn’t get this shot up quickly enough after

Selling an unsuccessful pump fake this is why players really struggle to exploit wem’s slightness no matter where you move him to you still have to score over a 7 fo4 man with an 8ft wingspan and that’s really hard but here joic does a much better job of countering

Wem’s size he buries him under the basket again but creates a little space with the forearm and is up in the air quickly and at his Apex before wemi can get up this is a spot where only yic is both nearly 300 lb and therefore able to

Move wemi easily and the best paint touch shot maker we have ever seen making 64% of his hook shot since last season and along with that irreplicable scoring yic has the unparalleled passing he disguises this as if he’s going to go into his hook again and as the defense

Converges on him drops this off perfectly to Gordon without even having to look still even the best post player on the planet didn’t attack wemi much one-on-one in those situations starting from a stagnant position in such close proximity to wemi is always going to be a challenge because of his length so jic

Was very deliberate about adjusting his approach to try to negate that advantage that meant he did most of his scoring in this game starting off ball from the perimeter then cutting or attacking a close out and putting up a touch shot before wemi could affect it jic was extremely intentional about spacing the

Floor because wem’s defensive range is unparalleled he is the best in the league at playing two offensive players at once blowing up pocket passes threatening both pick and roll ball handlers and rollers at the same time quickly rotating to destroy players in the dunker spot but with yic 5T beyond

The three-point line that’s obviously not possible he cannot both help on a driver and deal with joic so joic consistently put him in that predicament and here he keeps it simple leave me from the three-point line and I will gladly knock down a wide openen look but

He wasn’t lights out from deep in this game and only attempted three triples so he instead preferred to use all that Runway to get to Quality looks in the paint even on a miss here look at how far out yic is spacing the floor close

To 30 ft out and he gets a running start on this catch to quickly get downhill to this floater before wemi can challenge it he is doing fullon fast feet here waiting for the ball then Sprints with that running start gets as deep in the paint as he can without wemi being able

To affect him and puts up this money floater and that’s what makes jic a completely unique solution to the completely unique problem that is wem’s length he makes 63% of his floaters these shots no matter how impossible it may seem are like layups to him he shoots a whole 5%

Better inside the paint but outside the restricted area than any other high volume player in the League a massive Gap that is consistent year toe if anybody else is shooting floaters all game because they won’t challenge wemi at The Rim that’s a win for the defense but for jic it’s actually the perfect

Approach and he knew it here he’s again decisive and quick getting downhill then takes a bump to create space throws a pump fake that does get wemi in the air this time and times this hook perfectly leaving his feet as wemi is at the Apex

Of his jump so he’ll be coming down when the shot goes up and yic puts this safely high off the glass anyways in other matchups yish often loves to catch the ball at the three-point line wait for a close out so he can throw a pump fake then methodically work his way into

The paint but in this game he was not playing around he was making quick decisions and moving as fast as he can and as fast as I’ve seen him over the course of a game because he knew those windows were brief given wem’s absurd range and consistently punishing wemi

For overh helping in his usual RoR role with yic trailing the play wemi gets caught up in helping on Jamal who obviously can’t score on this double team so yic Cuts in the moment he catches this ball he’s up into a floater here wemi threatens a trap at half court

To Gordon which puts him a step behind yoke who again quickly attacks with that running start and gets to his floater you just can’t get away with that stuff overh helping and doubling when the best touch shot maker and smartest player in the game is on the floor and you’re

Matched up with him again wemi is in the paint and help and yoka just standing multiple feet behind the three-point line so that when he catches this wemi can’t close out champeny has to rotate over then yoke hits him with a classic pump and go to attack the close out and

Takes advantage of having anyone other than wemi guarding him for an easy bucket wemi loses sight of yic trailing the play here and doubles Jamal recklessly and it’s another easy cut for joic from the perimeter and even if he wasn’t at the three-point line joic had a positive impact on spacing by

Occupying wemi from the mid-range on these off ball screening actions allowing teammates to cut into open paints this is a beautifully disguised action overall and wemi stays attached to yic here so mpj doesn’t have to deal with help off this cut soan should slide over and try to help sooner here but

Wemi can’t leave jic himself to help because of the threat he poses as a mid-range shooter because here wemy gets caught under this screen for joic and he curls around it and knocks down this floater so both for himself and his teammates yic negated wem’s monstrous impact as an interior Defender as

Effectively as is possible and Beyond This brilliant overall strategy yic did at a couple points just out Fox wemi on individual plays here the young fella seems to want to deny him at half court so yic Jukes him and even with that 8ft wingspan outstretched manages to make a

Perfect touch pass to kcp and then Cuts leaves wemi trailing the play and dissects this two-on-one going over the top to Gordon here wemy just needs to be a bit more disciplined as yic pump fakes him into a foul and just because he did his best to negate wem’s absurd length

Around the rim yic did a good job of Simply making the most of every spot where he didn’t have to match up with wemi here he beats him down the floor and creates an easy threein transition and whenever Zack Collins was on the floor instead of wemi joic was just

Barbecuing him again very opportunistic very smart now wemy still had his wins in this game this is a great move by yic he bullies wemi into the restricted area then hits him with a beautiful spin into the pump fake but M is so huge that yic

Has to release this Hook from a very challenging angle and he misses here joic makes the mistake of showing wemy the ball who forces a steal with his absurd length and extremely active hands but there’s no question that overall the Serb won the day convincingly he dominated with superb efficiency as he

Does basically every single night this is why he’s to me clearly the greatest halfcourt offensive player ever he is so smart so huge and strong so absurdly gifted as a touch shot maker and so brilliant as a passer that he simply has an answer for everything but wbi drove

Him to adjust his game to initiate more from the perimeter to attack with rare speed and consistent intention and to ultimately do something no one else could his strategy and the touch shot making it took to outclass wemi in this game rookie wemi let’s keep in mind

Who’s already on the short list for best defensive player on the planet was something only niika yic could pull off and that is a testament to the greatness of both Players

Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama just faced off for the second time in an epic battle between an offensive GOAT and a defensive prodigy. As happened the first time they met, the Denver Nuggets got the better of the San Antonio Spurs — so how did Jokic find an answer for Wemby that no one else can?

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